Stocking fillers from the Booker Library: the best fiction for every type of reader

Finding the perfect present for your nearest and dearest isn’t always the easiest of tasks. Amid the decorating, planning Christmas dinner, and the inevitable holiday rush, it’s hard to find the time. But if you ask us, you can’t go wrong with a book.  

That’s why we’ve rounded a selection of the best novels for every type of reader this Christmas. Whether they’re drawn to thought-provoking fiction, crave something experimental, or enjoy a light-hearted classic, there’s a book here to suit every taste – and add a touch of magic this festive season. And with their compact size, these festive favourites will slip effortlessly into any stocking. Just don’t forget the chocolate coins! 

For readers seeking the best of this year’s fiction 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey 

If you’re seeking the crème de la crème of this year’s fiction to gift to a loved one, it’s impossible to ignore the winner of this year’s Booker Prize, Orbital by Samantha Harvey. And coming in at just 136 pages, you won’t find a better stocking-sized read. 

Set aboard the International Space Station where six astronauts rotate earth, Samantha Harvey masterfully uses the novel’s off-world setting not as a backdrop for sci-fi fantasy, but as a canvas for a poignant exploration of human life in its most fragile form. The vastness of Earth below them contrasts sharply with the astronauts’ isolation, all of which is captured in Harvey’s poetic, metaphor-rich prose. It’s this lyrical style that has garnered her legions of fans, elevating a brief narrative into a profound meditation on existence and connection, in all its fleeting glory. 

For those who’ve read it all 

Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown 

For the book lover who seems to have read almost everything, why not pick up a hidden gem from the Booker Prize archives. Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown, which was shortlisted for the Booker in 1994, takes readers to the mythical and windswept Orkney Isles. Through the eyes of Thorfinn Ragnarson, we journey through the island’s history, from its Viking origins to the Second World War. 

Mackay Brown, who was both a poet and an author, weaves myth, tradition, and the landscape of his native Orkney into a novel that’s steeped in the elemental forces of nature, perfect for readers who crave atmospheric, richly textured tales. 

For those who like to indulge in a classic 

Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald 

The break over the festive season offers the perfect time to indulge in a classic or two, and Penelope Fitzgerald’s 1979 Booker Prize winner, Offshore, delivers a nostalgic treat like no other. 

Following the lives of a band of outsiders who live in a houseboat community along the banks of the Thames, where loneliness, eccentricity, and the struggles of London’s underclass collide. With her trademark wit and subtle poignancy, Fitzgerald paints a vivid picture of this forgotten world, capturing both its struggles and charm. And with Offshore the shortest book ever to win the Booker Prize, it’s the perfect size to slip into a stocking.  

For those who love a crime caper 

The Trees by Percival Everett 

Those long, wintery evenings are the ideal time to indulge in a dark and thrilling read, and The Trees by Percival Everett is a standout choice for fans of crime fiction. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022, this is an unnerving murder mystery, one that unfolds in Money, Mississippi, where a series of brutal murders are linked by a disturbing presence at the crime scenes: a second body that resembles Emmett Till, the young black boy lynched in the same town over 60 years ago. 

Everett’s sharp satire and biting commentary on America’s history of racial violence combine with his trademark black humour, making this a gripping, thought-provoking novel that will keep readers on the edge of the sofa, all Christmas long.  

For those with cutting-edge tastes

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, Translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd 

If you’re looking for a book with an edge, Heaven by Mieko Kawakami is the answer. Told through the eyes of a 14-year-old Japanese boy who is relentlessly bullied because of his eye condition, the novel explores the unlikely bond he forms with another outcast. But it doesn’t take long for their secret friendship to be noticed, at which point their fragile lives begin to unravel.   

Kawakami’s sharp social commentary and ability to craft a narrative with an affecting depth make Heaven an emotional read, one that explores the isolation of adolescence. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as she offers glimmers of hope amid the darkness. Heaven was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022, and it’s this voice that has made Kawakami’s one of the most exciting contemporary authors in Japan today.